Five Middle Eastern countries have confirmed participation in GREEN×EXPO 2027: Yemen, Qatar, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. All five appear on the participation list published by the GREEN×EXPO Association (as of 9 September 2026) and on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list (as of 7 September 2026). All five have signed official participation contracts with the Association; Lebanon, the last, signed on 8 September 2026 and the Association announced it on 1 October.
GREEN×EXPO 2027 is the 2027 International Horticultural Expo. It will run from 19 March to 26 September 2027 at a site in Yokohama’s Seya and Asahi wards. The tables below give each country’s official participation contract status and the capital, population and language from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ basic data. Contract status is as of 1 October 2026; the basic data is as of September 2026. Only Qatar’s exhibit direction is known; the other four have no exhibit information as of September 2026.
The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula
| Country | Official participation contract | Capital | Population | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar | Signed 13 May 2025 (at the MAFF Sanbancho Conference Hall, Chiyoda, Tokyo) | Doha | about 3.37 million (January 2026, including foreign residents) | Arabic |
| Yemen | Signed 4 Apr 2026 (announced 17 Jul 2026) | Sana’a | about 40.6 million (2024, World Bank) | Arabic |
This was the first official participation contract for GREEN×EXPO 2027, so Qatar became the expo’s first international exhibitor. Qatar also hosted the previous A1-class International Horticultural Expo, Expo 2023 Doha, and its exhibit is planned to carry that expo’s spirit forward to Yokohama. In June 2026 Qatar signed an implementation contract covering the pavilion’s design through to its dismantling, and according to Qatar News Agency (QNA) the pavilion will have four parts based on a student’s design. Our article on Qatar has more on the signing ceremony, the names of the pavilion’s four parts, and Qatar’s plants and food.
Japan recognised Yemen and established diplomatic relations in May 1990, following the unification of North and South Yemen. In April and May 2025, Yemen’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr Al-Ashwal, attended the opening ceremony and Yemen’s national day at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
The Levant
| Country | Official participation contract | Capital | Population | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | Association announced 25 Aug 2026 (announcement); signing date not made public | Amman | 11.553 million (2024, World Bank) | Arabic (English also widely used) |
| Lebanon | 8 Sep 2026 (announced by the Association on 1 Oct; announcement) | Beirut | about 5.8 million (2024 estimate, World Bank) | Arabic (French and English also used) |
| Syria | Signed 6 Aug 2026 (announced 14 Aug 2026) | Damascus | 23.87 million (2024 estimate, CIA World Factbook) | Arabic and Kurdish (official; Kurdish added by presidential decree in January 2026) |
Relations between Japan and Jordan are extremely close, including long-standing ties between the imperial and royal families. King Abdullah II has visited Japan 16 times, and Crown Prince Hussein visited Japan as an expo guest in May 2025.
Japan opened a legation in Lebanon in 1954 and raised it to an embassy in 1959, and cultural exchange continues through grant aid and events such as a Japanese film festival held in Lebanon.
In December 2025, Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Onishi visited Syria for the first time in about 15 years and announced the resumption of bilateral economic cooperation. Syria’s Minister of Health, Dr Ali, visited Japan around the same time.
Other participating countries and organisations are in our participating countries guide, and dates, access, tickets and places to stay are on our GREEN×EXPO 2027 page.
Correction (19 September 2026): we had said Qatar’s specific exhibit content had not been announced; in fact, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on 13 June 2026 that the implementation contract had been signed and that the pavilion will have four parts.